WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump will meet jointly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping in China. The first-ever trilateral meeting between the three leaders will be held on the sidelines of a summit in China next week, the White House has said. The historic meeting between the leaders will take place as Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters. “The President has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous,” she said. The last nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia expired in February. China, meanwhile, has been rapidly building its nuclear arsenal. Officials downplayed the prospect of striking a new deal on nuclear matters, suggesting instead the talks would be a starting point. No agreement was expected to follow the talks, an unnamed, senior US official said, according to news agencies. “We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement. I would characterize this as the entry point, the first conversation, certainly at the leader level, between these countries,” the official added. Officials said the world leaders also planned to discuss Iran. Beijing and Moscow have yet to officially confirm participation in the trilateral summit. Trump will arrive in Shenzhen late on Wednesday for the two-day summit between the 21 member states. He will also take part in bilateral talks with Xi on Thursday – their fourth meeting since the US president returned to office in 2025. “President Trump will conclude his visit to China with a trilateral meeting between the president of the United States, the president of the People’s Republic of China, and the president of the Russian Federation,” Wales said.
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